Bob Peterson's 1933 Ford 3-Window Coupe

A photo of Bob with the coupe. He owned it in the mid-1960s, when he was stationed at the Army's Nike-Hercules missile headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "I had a custom 1952 Ford 2-door station wagon that was lowered, custom painted, pinstriped all by me as a daily driver. The '33 coupe was my second car that I kept at a friend's house in Minneapolis." Photo courtesy of Bob Peterson.

Bob's low coupe ran a stock 1933 Ford frame that had been Z'd. It was mostly built when he got it, but he had to redo, change and correct many things. "The body was channeled about 10". The floor was flat and had plenty of leg room for this 6’ guy." Photo courtesy of Bob Peterson.

To get the front end low without any fabrication, Bob did something that's not recommended today. "I kept the original front stock cross member and removed the shocks and spring. I then mounted the front axle into the spring mount cross member. So, the only front suspension is the front tires. If you want a soft ride, run low air pressure. If I wanted a stiff ride, I'd use 40-psi in the front tires. The axle was stiff enough that it never flexed much. The headlights were mounted directly to the axle. In today’s world, the law says headlights must be 12” above the roadway." Photo courtesy of Bob Peterson.

Bob owned the coupe for three years, and he only drove it on dry summer days. "Lots of fun!" After the Army, he sold the '33 for $200 to pay for one year of tuition for college. Photo courtesy of Bob Peterson.

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1933 Ford 3-Window Coupe owned by Robert "Bob" Peterson of Mason City, Iowa. Bob is a 4th generation transplant from Norway, and his relatives came from Bergen and Nesbyen in Norway. Bob's great grandfather Ole came to the USA when he was 14, and he changed his Norwegian last name from Frakkeajord to the Americanized name Peterson as his father's name was Pedar.

Channeled 10 Inches

Bob owned the coupe in the mid-1960s. He bought it in 1962. Back then, he was stationed at the Army's Nike-Hercules missile headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "I had a custom 1952 Ford 2-door station wagon that was lowered, custom painted, pinstriped all by me as a daily driver. The '33 coupe was my second car that I kept at a friend's house in Minneapolis." Bob's low coupe ran a stock 1933 Ford frame that had been Z'd. It was mostly built when he got it, but he had to redo, change and correct many things. "The body was channeled about 10". The floor was flat and had plenty of leg room for this 6’ guy. To get the front end low without any fabrication, I did something that's not recommended today. I kept the original front stock cross member and removed the shocks and spring. I then mounted the front axle into the spring mount cross member. So, the only front suspension is the front tires. If you want a soft ride, run low air pressure. If I wanted a stiff ride, I'd use 40-psi in the front tires. The axle was stiff enough that it never flexed much. The headlights were mounted directly to the axle. In today’s world, the law says headlights must be 12” above the roadway. The body remained perfectly stock. When the original roof canvas started to unravel, I removed it and never replaced it. The original wood roof structure was left in place."

Olds Power

Bob's coupe was powered by a 1952 Oldsmobile V8 engine with two two-barrel carbs. "Standard hydromatic transmission that would easily chirp the tires when manually shifted. A sectioned '32 grille shell covered the radiator. A very basic hot rod of the early 1960's." Bob owned the coupe for three years, and he only drove it on dry summer days. "Lots of fun!" After the Army, in 1965, he sold the '33 for $200 to pay for one year of tuition for college.